Once you make homemade corn tortillas, you will never buy them again. Corn tortilla making from scratch is a simple two-ingredient process.
Use these corn tortillas as the base for flank steak tacos, these flavorful shrimp tacos or fill them with your favorite chicken taco meat. Or, use them to make my homemade, cheesy, chicken enchiladas.
Homemade Corn Tortillas Recipe
If you’ve never put in the tiny bit of extra effort it requires to make homemade tortillas, this is your chance to change all that and equals a big payoff taste and texture wise.
With this easy recipe, you can now have the best taco Tuesday every week in your home. In fact, I’m almost positive once you make the yourself, you will never buy another package of store-bought tortillas again.
Homemade tortillas are a warm hug for your favorite taco fillings.
Ingredients for Homemade Corn Tortillas
- masa flour – I use Maseca brand Instant Corn Masa Flour, it is available everywhere in the Latin American aisle of the grocery store
- water
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How to Make Homemade Corn Tortillas
Step one: In a medium-sized bowl, combine masa and water. Mix until combined. If needed, continue to add water, a few teaspoons at a time, until dough is smooth and slightly sticky, but holds together when pressed.
Step two: Roll the masa into 1-inch balls and set aside. Cover the balls with a damp towel so they do not dry out.
Step three: In the meantime, heat a clay comal or a nonstick griddle over medium heat.
Step four: Prepare the tortilla press by lining the bottom plate with parchment paper.
Step five: Place one masa ball in the middle of the press and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Press the top plate down firmly and evenly to flatten the dough. Open the press and flip the dough before pressing a second time (you want the tortilla to be about 1/8” thick).
Step six: Carefully peel the tortilla off of the parchment paper and place it on the hot comal or griddle.
Step seven: Once the edges of the tortilla start to dry and turn opaque, flip the tortilla (this takes about 30 seconds). Once the tortilla starts to blister and rise (about 45 seconds), flip the tortilla again.
Step eight: The tortilla should puff up after about 10 seconds, once this happens the tortilla is ready to be removed and placed in a tortilla warmer.
Step nine: Repeat until all of tortillas are made.
Do You Need A Tortilla Press to Make Corn Tortillas?
You absolutely do not need a tortilla press to make corn tortillas from scratch, however you’ll love the results of the final tortillas much more if you do.
What’s nice about the tortilla press is that it provides very even pressure, making perfectly round, thin tortillas batch after batch. If you do not have a tortilla press you will need to roll these out by hand.
The press itself is inexpensive and the best ones do not have any plastic parts. It will last years and years if you get one made of cast iron.
Do I Need a Clay Comal for this Recipe?
You do not.
What’s nice about a clay comal is how hot it gets, but a griddle or a crepe pan can also be used for making tortillas.
How Do I Store Homemade Tortillas?
Store the tortillas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. These also freeze well and can be reheated without defrosting them.
Can I Eat These Warm or Cold?
Fresh tortillas are best served hot off the press.
You want to keep the tortillas warm by wrapping them in a clean towel and storing them in a tortilla warmer until ready to serve. If you don’t have a tortilla warmer, wrap them in the towel and place them in the microwave or under the lid of a pot to retain the heat and moisture. You can even place them in a small cooler. Anything that is insulated and will help to keep them warm will work.
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Homemade Corn Tortillas
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups masa (I used Maseca brand Instant Corn Masa Flour) available everywhere
- 1 cup water (additional water may be needed)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine masa and water. Mix until combined. If needed, continue to add water, a few teaspoons at a time, until dough is smooth and slightly sticky, but holds together when pressed.
- Roll the masa into 1-inch balls and set aside. Cover the balls with a damp towel so they do not dry out.
- In the meantime, heat a clay comal or a nonstick griddle over medium heat.
- Prepare the tortilla press by lining the bottom plate with parchment paper.
- Place one masa ball in the middle of the press and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Press the top plate down firmly and evenly to flatten the dough. Open the press and flip the dough before pressing a second time (you want the tortilla to be about 1/8” thick).
- Carefully peel the tortilla off of the parchment paper and place it on the hot comal or griddle.
- Once the edges of the tortilla start to dry and turn opaque, flip the tortilla (this takes about 30 seconds). Once the tortilla starts to blister and rise (about 45 seconds), flip the tortilla again.
- The tortilla should puff up after about 10 seconds, once this happens the tortilla is ready to be removed and placed in a tortilla warmer.
- Repeat until all of tortillas are made.
Nutrition
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